Noon, Saturday July 30th 2011 - Noon, Sunday July 31st 2011.

The Lakeland 50 is one the greatest ultra marathons in Europe, the total distance of the event is 50 miles, which is double the distance of a standard marathon. The event is held in the lake district which means, at no point will the run be on level terrain, its all off road across the rugid mountain peaks, there's approximately 13,000ft of ascent to deal with during the tour of the Lake District, to put that into perspective Ben Nevis is 1344m high so during the run i will climb the height of Ben Nevis just over two times. The Lakeland 50 is a huge challenge, it requires commitment, drive and the ability to 'just keep going' when most folk would 'just rather not'. The route starts from the Northern end of Ullswater within the grand Dalemain Estate before following the Eastern shore line as far as Howtown. A quick climb and descent followed by a trek along the banks of Haweswater sees you at Mardale Head. The route from here visits Long Sleddale, Kentmere, Ambleside, Langdale and Tilberthwaite before the final climb and descent to the finish at Coniston. To complete the event you must be well prepared and be able to navigate successfully, as the route is not marked or sign posted, you have to navigate whilst running. In 2010 a total of 350 competitors took up the challenge and the organising team watched in amazement as a mixture of runners battled personal challenges to complete the event within the given time limit. There is nothing 'easy' about the Lakeland 50 no matter how well you prepare, but 'easy' and 'achievement' are rarely part of the same sentence. Its a well known fact that 60-75% of entrants do not make it to the finish line in coniston, many pull out for medical and health reasons during the race. This event will be a huge challenge for me, mentally and physically, after 12-14 hours of running I am sure to be a mess and more than likely struggling to walk across the line, hopefully after reading this, you'll realise how much of a challenge I have set myself and to try and raise funds for help for heroes, during the year I will be competing in many other events, such as the Mud Runner off road series, a 24hr endurance mountain bike race, a 8 hour endurance duathlon and many more.